How To Know If You’re Ready To Sell Your Art
Are you ready to sell your art? This article is for either beginning artists that are starting to explore the commercial potential of their work, or more advanced artists who are pivoting their work to try something new. If one of these sound like you, I have a few tips to help you decide if your new work is ready to sell. I’ll also highlight a few things to keep in mind to take money-stress off the table as much as possible.
In my Art Revenue Coaching membership, I’ve noticed we have members at all stages of their art and business development journey. Some people are still focusing on developing their unique voice, and some people are making a full time living from their art. Figuring out when to go “live” so to speak, is a complex proposition. If you sell too early, you might have disappointing sales and your art quality may suffer. If you wait, and wait, and wait because you want to be “ready,” you’ll never build up the necessary business skills you’ll need to sell your art.
Count the Cost of Selling Your Art
When you are ready to sell, the act of actually making the art is only half of the equation. We also need to spend an almost equal amount of time and energy to promote and market it, or it simply won't sell. This realization can be disheartening for artists who put their soul into making beautiful work, but then find out that just HAVING the amazing work isn't enough. They also have to tell people about it and put some systems in place to make selling easy.
Keep Your Job, At Least for Now
Until you have a very established income from art, I don’t recommend quitting your other income generators (also known as jobs). The financial insecurity that can come from relying on your art sales alone can crush creativity and fun. Selling art is ALREADY emotional, and if you layer in desperation and financial insecurity, it’s not going to be fun. For years I waitressed as a part time job, which was a good fit for making art and having a lot of flexibility. That being said, if you have a very demanding sixty hour a week job, that will take a bite out of your available creative energy. In this gig economy, however, there are many casual jobs that can create the income stability and time stability you will need to grow your art business
For those of you that are early in your journey of creating an art business, here are four tips to know if you are ready to sell your art:
Tip 1: You Might be ready to sell your art if You work in a series
You have been working in a series and you have developed your voice. If you are still in the experiment phase, you might sell a piece here and there, but profitable, sustainable business comes from consistency and focus. In the marketing world, it’s frequently cited that a potential customer might need eight to ten interactions with a company before they buy a product.
Tip 2: You might be ready to sell art if Your work is technically developed
You will know you are ready to sell if your work is technically sound. You are using archival materials, meaning the art won’t fade or warp or otherwise decay over time. Your painting will hang flat on the wall, your mug will be comfortable in someone’s hand, and your sculpture won’t fall over.
Tip 3: You have a business plan
You need to have a business plan before you sell your art, but don’t get alarmed here. I know “business plan” sounds intense, but in order to sell your work effectively, you need to have a plan for marketing, transactions and fulfillment. Marketing is simply the methods you will use to let people know you have art for sale. That’s the pesky thing I mentioned earlier that will take some time and dedication to get right. Transaction details are how the money will exchange hands, and fulfillment is how you will physically get the art to them after their purchase.
Tip 4: You know your costs
Knowing if you are ready to sell requires you to understand your costs inside and out. You know your desired margins, your time spent and your costs. This is all connected to your business plan, so pricing your art is SUPER important.
If you need help pricing your work, check out this free guide here: Pricing Your Art Made Easy, or you can click the button below!
